One could say that 4-0 starts to Gulf South Conference play have become a foregone conclusion for the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys.

Arkansas Tech (12-3 overall, 3-0 GSC) will try to start 4-0 in GSC West Division men's basketball for a fourth consecutive season when the Wonder Boys host the Southern Arkansas Muleriders (8-7, 0-3) at Tucker Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. today.

Tickets will be available at the door. Those with a valid Tech ID will be admitted free.

Arkansas Tech is tied with Harding University (13-2, 3-0) for first place in the Gulf South West. The Wonder Boys have won six consecutive games and have not tasted defeat in more than a month.

Southern Arkansas is heading in the opposite direction. The Muleriders have lost four consecutive games and dropped six of their last seven outings.

But one only has to look back to Jan. 2 to discover how dangerous Southern Arkansas can be. That was when the Muleriders went on the road and defeated nationally-ranked Alabama-Huntsville 49-46.

"From an athleticism standpoint, Southern Arkansas is right there at the top of our league," Tech head coach Doug Karleskint said Wednesday. "Coach (Eric) Bozeman gets his guys to play hard. They really defended us last year, and they were very well prepared for us. It's a tough match-up for us because they have some quick guys in the post."

The chances of the Muleriders stopping their losing streak on Thursday might hinge upon which Southern Arkansas team arrives in Russellville.

The Muleriders were without starting guards Channin Harden and Rico Lambert when they dropped a 76-69 decision at Ouachita Baptist last Saturday.

Harden is SAU's leading scorer and third-leading scorer in the GSC at 18 points per game. Lambert is second among the Muleriders in assists (33). A post-game news release from the university didn't include any official comment on the absence of Harden and Lambert.

"We're preparing for Channin Harden and his 18 points per game to come in here," Karleskint said. "He shoots a fade-away jumper that is really hard to stop. And then with Rico (Lambert), I think he is one of the best drivers of the basketball in our league. Lambert is more of a facilitator. Both of those guys are hard to stop one-on-one, so we'll need to have good help-side defense on them."

If the Muleriders are forced to go without two of their starting guards for a second consecutive game, it will only fuel the engine of Arkansas Tech's success this season - turnover margin.

The Wonder Boys have finished with a positive turnover margin in all six of the games during their current winning streak. For the season, Arkansas Tech leads the GSC in turnover margin (+8.33 turnovers per game).

Senior point guard Laithe Massey is one of the key factors in the Wonder Boys' success in that category. He has 79 assists this season against just 19 turnovers. His 4.16-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is best in the GSC.

The senior from Heber Springs also averages 2.33 steals per game, third-best in the conference. His teammate, senior forward James Causey, ranks second in the GSC in steals (2.79 per game).

Massey ranks seventh in Arkansas Tech history in career assists (346) and fourth in Tech history in career steals (163).

If he continues his current pace of 5.27 assists per game, Massey will surpass the 400-assist mark and move into fourth place in career assists for the Wonder Boys by the end of the regular season.

Tonight's game will be broadcast on radio station KWKK 100.9 FM and online at www.athletics.atu.edu.